She's Too Pretty To Be My Daughter?! | KARAMO

Start off and tell me, did you raise your daughter?

Well, I had my daughter, I was, well, before my daughter was born, I was in prison.

Okay.

I came home from prison 2 months after she was born. Mm-hmm. And I seen my daughter, wanted her, and her mother told me she had to work.

Yeah.

For me to watch her over the weekend.

Yeah.

She dropped her off to me, never returned.

Oh wow.

So you did have her?

Yeah. So you raised her? And when did she get taken away from you and why?

Why? She got tooken at 2 years old.

2 years old.

Well, her mother tried to come back and get her back. The police told her, is he the father? She said yes, they said there's nothing they can do about it, you have to go through the legal matter. So she went and took it upon herself to call CPS and put a case on me.

Wow.

And when she got tooken, it just, I lost it.

Of course.

I didn't know how to react, I didn't know what to think, I just, I went on a deep end, but at the same time, I knew I had to do what I had to do to try to get her. So I would go down to CPS every day, sign the sign-in sheet.

Yeah.

Visit, but they would never let me get my daughter.

Yeah.

Then they told me, finally they came out and told me, they said, "Well, we don't think she's your daughter because she's too pretty to be your daughter." No.

A CPS worker said that?

Yes. Yes. And I was very hurt because like—

Of course.

At that time, I mean, you know, I was young. I was 21 at the time.

Yeah.

And I wanted to be a father. And so when she got took and it destroyed me mentally.

Of course. So I'm so sorry you went through that.

So sorry you went through that. Yeah, I mean, it hurt because like I was adopted myself. Yeah. So I knew what it was like to be in the system and I didn't want my kids any of my kids, period, to ever go through that.

If this worker made that ludicrous comment, did they offer a DNA test as well?

No. Did they offer? They refused me to get a DNA test. They refused. And see, that's why I was like so skeptical about the system, period.

Were you in the South?

Yeah. And it was rough. But when my daughter was born, it changed my life.

Yeah.

You know, 'cause like me personally, before my daughter was born, I was a womanizer.

Yeah.

You know, I wasn't abusive, but I was just a womanizer. I took advantage of women. I used women for what I can get outta my selfish purposes. And when I had my daughter, it changed my whole thinking of women.

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah.

I'm not, I'm not the best father, but I feel like in my heart that I am that father.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

Like— Yeah. That's what I noticed. And so, you know, that's why I'm so sorry. And I just have to address this because I knew immediately working in the system for years when the systemic racism that happens and we cannot pretend And so for them to not offer you a DNA test, they see a young Black man who's been out of prison and instead of saying, well, he's going to make it and try and be a great father, he's already proven 2 years. I'm sure that this worker probably looked at you and decided and just wrote you off. And then the system allowed her to do that. And I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry because you now then are, have dealt with your own issues of being in foster care system, feeling the system. Trying to get your mental health together and now this person destroys you and you are a young man and I just apologize for that, like sincerely.

But I never gave up on her. I know you didn't. I never gave up on her. I stayed with her.

Amazing.

It's crazy because like when my daughter was 13, she took the initiative to come find me.

Wow, great.

She found me through Facebook.

Yeah.

And she was like, "Hey, I might be your daughter." And I just looked at the picture and I was just looking at myself and I was like, well, there is a big resemblance, you know? And I was like, well, I said, and what's your name again? And so she told, and I said, oh my God, I remember exactly who you are. And I said, I've been waiting for this day and for this moment.

Of course, entire time.

And I've been in her life ever since.

So through her, 'cause you said she was 13 at that age and you were through her life throughout the teen years?

No, not the parents that she had didn't want her to have contact with none of her family members.

Oh wow, okay then.

But as she got older, they realized that they had no choice over that. It was her decision and she made that decision and to me that was the greatest decision.

And so did her mother tell you she wasn't your daughter?

Yeah, she told me a lot of times that she's not my daughter.

Got it.

And so when she changed her story, it kinda made me, I felt like, well, I'm here, I'm gonna raise her, I'm gonna be a father to her. And as the years gone by, it was just like, I need to know.

Yeah.

You know?

How's your relationship with your potential daughter now?

It's pretty good. I mean, we, it's not as good as it should be. We don't keep in contact like all the time, but when we call and talk, we talk and we be on the phone for hours.

Do you think that the lack of it being able to grow a stronger bond is because of the fact that there's this doubt and the years missed?

Yeah.

Makes sense. So why are these DNA results important to you?

Well, it's important to me because I was adopted, number one, and it's by right, I need to know my own DNA bloodline.

Yeah.

And so, you know, my father, my real father was never there for me. And I know what it felt like not having a father. And I never wanted my kids to go through any of that.

Yeah, I hear that.

You know, just knowing the fact that, You're the father in your own heart, and then for somebody to come and strip it away from you. Yeah. It made me feel less of a man, not more of a man, like I was doing the right thing. It just made me feel like, at 21 years old, I didn't even know who I was.

Of course.

But I knew I had a duty I had to take care of. My parents always raised me, if you create something, you take care of it no matter what.

Yeah. That's great. So I wanna meet your potential daughter Khalecia and hear her side of the story. So everyone please welcome Khalecia to the show. Hi Khalecia, how are you?

Hello.

Thank you for being here.

Yeah, thank you.

Yeah. So I gotta ask you directly, do you believe Buck is your father?

In my heart, I really do believe he is my father. It's just, I've had a lot of doubts here and there because I was told almost my whole life that you have a potential other person who could be your dad.

Okay.

So I never knew. It was very confusing for me and I've always wanted to just get that full-on confirmation.

Yeah. Do you have a relationship with your biological mother?

No.

Got it, okay. When you heard those stories about the fact that he raised you for 2 years, and then CPS was called and that he still visited you. How does that make you feel?

Honestly, I'm a little conflicted because growing up I heard different stories. I heard that he kidnapped me and that he didn't, he refused to give me back. And then CPS was called because of the place that he was living at and the situation. And so I've been extremely confused on—

Of course.

I don't know what to even believe anymore, you know?

Of course.

And then my adopted mom gives me a whole nother story like, "Oh yeah, you know, you were just kind of in the system and they brought you to me and was like, 'Hey, do you want a little girl?'" And I was like, "Yeah, you know, give her to me." Got it.

Well, I can hear some of the truth within these stories. I'll tell you that he couldn't have kidnapped you because if they would've kidnapped you and CPS would've got involved, he would've been arrested immediately. Now what I do know is that there could've been someone else in the house that the CPS was concerned that would've been neglecting or abusing you. And so they would've removed you for that reason. But if they thought that he was a part of it, they would've never allowed him to come and make visits. Are you still close to the adoptive family?

Yes, I do live with my adoptive mom.

You still do?

I kind of take care of her now 'cause she's in her 70s.

Oh nice, okay.

And she helps me take care of my daughter.

Do you have any relationship with Buck now?

We have a relationship, but because he lives a few cities away and I don't have transportation and he's always working, it's kind of hard to just go see each other all the time.

Yeah.

But we do FaceTime.

And so how often do you FaceTime?

Not as often as we probably should. It's also that just kind of blockage of, well, what if he isn't my dad? I don't wanna just keep forming that relationship.

Relationship, makes sense.

And then my daughter, you know, she's only 3. I don't want her to form a whole bond, you know, if it's gonna be, all right, well, he's not my dad and we're gonna go our separate ways.

Got it. Are you close with her daughter?

I call and contact and I see her on FaceTime and I do pull up and go visit.

Yeah, she's only 3, so the bond is not fully there, but—

Yeah, but she's extremely smart and like, she knows. She knows, she knows.

She sees me on FaceTime, she says, "Papa." Oh, that's sweet.

Yeah.

Well, I think it's time to solve this 27-year-old DNA mystery. Are you ready?

Absolutely.

Well, Buck, I'm gonna have you come with me. I'm gonna have you come with me, Buck. I'm gonna have you stand right here. Buck, the reason I'm having you open this is because you were there and you were told that this was your child. You raised her, you loved her, and then she was ripped away from you and you tried to get her back. But then with the systemic racism in the system, with people giving you conflicting stories, it made it harder and harder. And you've connected now and you never gave up hope. And now there's an opportunity to find out the truth is that if this is you, your actual daughter. This is your truth to open, not mine.

So good luck.

I know it's hard, but we've been waiting for this.

Yeah, this has been too long, but it's well worth it. Felicia, I am your father.

Yeah.

I never gave up on you.

I knew it.

I never gave up.

You can't deny the twinism.

No, definitely can't. I just knew. I just knew, but I just never gave up either.

So how do you feel right now? This is your father. The buck stops here.

No, for real.

Oh, man. Yes. There's so many emotions going on right now.

Yeah. This is healing for both of you. And whether you know it or not, this was the closure you both needed.

Yeah, man, for the longest time, it was like—

I'm a grandfather.

Oh, it was— man, I was going through emotions of, who am I really? Like, I'm getting told so many different things. I just wanted to know the truth. And now I have it. You know, like, now I can— meet your family, you know, like fully and—

How many other kids do you have?

I got a little boy that's almost 2 years old. Oh wow. And he's mine.

Yeah, and so you have a little brother now. Yeah. Okay. And now you're a grandfather, okay.

Yes.

Well, congratulations. I'm so happy for both of you that you got your answers. Thank you for trusting us with your story. And everyone at home, make sure to come back next time, friends, so we can keep talking and growing. I love you all.